This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 308424/1997 filed on Nov. 11, 1997, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus having a schedule management function accepting a plurality of print jobs from one or more external devices and a control method thereof applicable to a network printer or a print system including a print server and a printer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a printer is capable of storing a plurality of sheets of paper and has an automatic paper feed function in which the paper sheets are taken out from the storage and fed for printing automatically. The printer also has what is called a manual paper feed port by way of which paper are supplied sheet by sheet manually. The manual paper feed port is used mainly for a comparatively small number of printing using a special paper sheet different from the paper sheets stored in the machine. The special paper includes those larger or smaller than the standard size, color printing paper, paper preprinted with a remark column or the like, and an 0HP sheet. In loading a print job into the printer from an external device typically including a computer, the automatic paper feed or the manual paper feed is designated.
A printer such as a network printer adapted to be shared by a plurality of external devices includes a buffer of a predetermined capacity and is capable of accepting a plurality of print jobs. In other words, the printer can accept a print job during the printing work as well as when waiting for a print job.
The conventional printing apparatuses are configured so that print jobs are performed in the order in which they are loaded into the machine regardless of automatic or manual paper feed. On the other hand, a system configuration has been suggested in which the printing order of priority can be set, the actual printing order can be changed and the print jobs can be canceled as desired by the user operating an external device or the printing apparatus (JP-A-7-295767).
In the prior art, as described above, the print jobs are carried out in the order in which they are loaded into the printer. In the case where a print job of manual paper feed is loaded, therefore, print jobs which may be loaded thereafter, regardless of automatic or manual paper feed, are not carried out until the previously-loaded print job of manual paper feed is complete. Assume, for example, that the user who has designated a print job of manual paper feed on an external device has forgotten to feed paper at the place of installation of the printer, the printer is left in a substantially inoperative state waiting for paper feed at the sacrifice of other users being troubled.
Another problem is that the user who has come to the printer at the place of installation thereof to feed paper manually may have to wait for a long time until other print jobs of automatic paper feed are complete and his or her turn comes.